It is easy to be self righteous from the lectern of 20/20 hindsight. These are folks that seem to think they have all the answers. The journey of faith requires one to understand that it is about the trail, and the things one encounters on it. Some of these things are pleasant and joyful, some are dark, dangerous, and frightening. One can go on and on about the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church. It is a sure bet the same could be done with most religions, and most philosophical schools of thought. Remember the cultural revolution of China, an avowed atheist State, where people were imprisoned and killed because they lacked purity of thought with regard to Communism as it was being practiced.

All of that is not to mitigate the guilt of the priests, and the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. As Joe has said, and the Pope has indicated, it was handled very badly, and the damage done to the victims is horrific. But the worst critics of the scandal still only ascribe these actions to less than 2% of the priesthood. That means 98% are out there tending to their parishes, teaching values to the kids and parents, doing acts of charity, providing first rate educations, and doing missionary work among the poorest of the poor. The same Church that many are so willing to chastise gave the world Mother Theresa, whose works are without equal, and which has spawned a whole order of folks dedicating their lives to working among the people that all others forgot. And done without proselytizing.

All the best,

Mick